Comparison
Invisible watermarking vs C2PA for Article 50 marking
The machine-readable marking guide on this site splits Article 50(2) implementations into two technical families. This page is the short comparison, mapped to tools already in the directory — not a new product claim.
Check a file or URL| Digimarc | c2patool (CAI open source) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Steganographic or learned watermark bound to the media itself (Digimarc, Steg.AI, IMATAG, SynthID, Stable Signature). | Open C2PA manifest store: signed claims about capture, generation, and edits (Content Credentials, Truepic, c2patool, C2PA Lab). |
| Best when | Content will be screenshotted, transcoded, or posted to platforms that strip metadata. | You need interoperable, third-party-verifiable history and can keep metadata intact (or restore it). |
| Failure mode | Detector lock-in; robustness varies after heavy compression; not a rich edit history. | The credential is gone if the wrapper is stripped — the pixels look unmarked even if they once had a manifest. |
| Openness | Most production watermarks are vendor-specific. Some research/open options exist (Stable Signature). | C2PA is an open specification with multiple independent implementations in this catalog. |
Takeaway
Treat watermarking and C2PA as complementary, not rivals. Mark at generation, keep credentials through delivery, and document technical feasibility — governance platforms in the directory exist for that evidence trail.
Tools from the catalog
Mapped from public catalog entries and the existing marking guide. Not legal advice. Featured placements, if any, are labeled on tool cards. Get featured.